Ecodesign and Sustainable Design Education in Wales

Where is our starting point?

Sponsored by Huw Lewis AM

Background &Context

Policy drivers

Higher Education Strategy promotes the STEM subjects for innovation

Welsh Innovation Strategy does recognise the importance of ecodesign andeco-innovation for Welsh industry.

Design community defends that is incomplete picture and design should be included as it is a bridging subject to achieve innovations in industry.

High priority to develop skilled technicians with understanding of innovation, whole product and process lifecycles and skills to improve efficiency in terms of energy and resource consumption.

Higher EducationStrategy

Skills forWales

Innovation Design

Well-being for Future Generations (Wales) Bill

Sustainability and Ecodesign in HE

Universities are autonomous

entities, free to independently determine

strategies, direction, curricula, skills, partnerships, work

placements.

Report states:• Public interest in and global concern for

Sustainability - related issues

• Increasing demand from employers for graduates with skills to address sustainability issues

• Students seeking to develop their sustainability skillset

Framework for Sustainable

Development in HEUK

Welsh context

Welsh Government

Higher Education

Skills for Wales

Innovation Design

Universities

EDCResearch

Research Aim

AimReview the integration of sustainability and ecodesign in design higher education in Wales.

Key objectives

1. Map the integration of sustainability and ecodesign in design curricula in higher education in Wales and the UK

2. Identify the current approach to work placement and student exchange programs in Wales.

3. Benchmark international best practice for sustainability and ecodesign higher education including curricula, work placement programs, student exchange programs and governmental design policy.

4. Identify recommendations for improvements to design higher education in Wales

Research Scope

These six course types are chosen because they are:

1. The most prevalent design courses (thus offering substantial opportunity to integrate sustainability and ecodesign in design education in Wales)

2. Perceived as those courses with most activity to-date in terms of sustainability and ecodesign education.

WelshFindings

2014 - Mapping Wales

Courses with ‘sustainability’ and ‘ecodesign’ in the

programme

+

Cardiff Metropolitan UniversityUniversity of Wales Trinity Saint David

(Swansea campus)Glyndwr UniversitySwansea University

Bangor University

13 Welsh

Universities

2014 - Welsh design courses

University of Wales Trinity Saint David (Swansea campus)

BA Product Design with Marketing

University of Wales Trinity Saint David (Swansea campus)BA Glass with PDBA PD with Computer VisualisationBA PD with Enterprise BA PDBA PD with Digital Media MSc Industrial Design

Cardiff Metropolitan University BA Graphic Communication

University of Wales TrinitySaint David (Swansea campus)

MA Product Design and Innovation

All 15 courses seems to have modular approach towards

sustainability and ecodesignGlyndwr UniversityBA Design: Applied Arts

Bangor UniversityBSc PD

Swansea UniversityBEng PD EngineeringMEng PD Engineering

Cardiff Metropolitan UniversityBA Product DesignMSc Advanced PD

2015 - Mapping Wales

Courses with ‘sustainability’ and ‘ecodesign’ in the

programme

+13 Welsh

Universities

Cardiff Metropolitan UniversityUniversity of Wales Trinity St David

(Swansea campus and Carmarthen campus) Glyndwr UniversitySwansea University

Bangor University

BA/BSc/BEng Product Design

• Use of one method: desk-based research

• Data collection:

– data gaps due to a lack of information on university websites and within prospectuses (e.g. module content).

– lack of alignment between the stated aim of some courses and its set curricula

– one source of data (i.e. website and prospectuses) meaning only that conclusions where collected form one perspective, the Universities perspective.

• Validation:

– Barriers to validate information collected with the welsh design educators

Limitations of the research

Thank you!